And so it begins
by XxCommanderShepardxX
Summary: Ermagherd ner fernferction... What will Shepard and her crew get into next? God only knows...
1. Chapter One: Urz!

**A/N: My first one shot, it's a bit short and also a bit rough but I wrote it lightheartedly. I'd like to continue this particular "story" but it'll probably just be composed of one-shots that are all fairly short and humorous. **

**Anyway, all ME characters/story/ blah blah belong to Bioware, blah, blah, blah. **

* * *

"Oi, Urz…get _over_ here", Jane Shepard whispered, motioning for the speckled varren to retreat off and preferably away from her and her bondmate's bed. Urz simply looked at her, eyes full of pity, as he tucked his tail between his legs and laid down against Shepard's pillow.

"Ohhhh, don't you give me that look" she started, putting her hands on her hips as a mother would scolding a child, "You know as well as I do that if Liara catches you up there, she'll kill us both."

It wasn't until after the Reaper war that Shepard decided she held a soft spot for the little varren she had "adopted" while back on Tuchanka so many months before. Sure, he was ugly, and messy, and slobbered practically _everywhere_, but, he was also loyal and fiercely protective of his master.

After about six months spent lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to IV's and being hardly able to move for a good two weeks prior, she journeyed back the Krogan home world for a pain remedy, one concocted by Bakara to help ease her suffering as she recovered from her injuries. "If it can soothe a krogan with a massive hangover, it can soothe Commander Shepard", she had said. And the old shaman had been right, and with only a few slight aches and pains here and there, the Commander could successfully say she had almost fully healed.

She missed her crew, and the erroneous and highly dangerous yet excitingly-risky missions she was once assigned, and she was ready to get back in the saddle and continue her life of adventure. There was never rest for Commander Shepard and that was how she preferred it.

It could be said that the Reaper war brought about massive changes to the galaxy and systems Alliance. Home worlds were rebuilding, citizens were coping with loss and mental anguish, and each race of species was slowly starting to view the other as equals. In a war of organics and synthetic monsters, not much else was possible.

But for the Normandy and her crew, everything remained pretty much the same. Joker, though offered a chance at retirement and a hefty sum to boot, eagerly refused and continued to sit at the helm of his majestic ship and alongside his ever faithful EDI, whom survived the synthetic genocide to the amazement of her companions.

A tribute to Admiral Anderson was to be held in the coming months as a way to pay respect and honor to the man and father figure so many had known. Shepard had been asked to speak, naturally, she obliged.

Dr. Chakwas, too, remained onboard, claiming it would have been too hard to say goodbye to so many memories when she had a chance to continue making them; that, and leaving her crew, whom she came to see as her children, was not something she could ever do.

And as for the remainder of Shepard's motley crew, they also stayed. Retirement was too boring, and "normal life" was too easy. The taste of adventure was in each of their veins and not one of them was ready to give that up yet.

They all loyally remained on shore leave until their Commander was fit and able to rejoin them, not wanting to leap into the fray without her at their side. Many months had passed while she remained in care, taking refuge in her quarters under the watchful eye of Chakwas and her bondmate, whom had recently moved in to share her bed.

But, Shepard was a stubborn one. She never left her ship, hated to sleep, and was nearly convinced she could run a marathon, even in her present condition. The number of scowls and arm crossings she faced from the asari were limitless and the number of cheeky smiles she gave in return were too many to count.

Through rest and innumerous holovids to pass her boredom, Shepard slowly recovered and constantly being in her quarters gave her plenty of time to consider redecorating. Step one, she needed new pets.

* * *

She managed to keep Urz a secret, wanting to ship train him before she let him run loose. A compartment about the equivalent to a cat's litter box was housed in the corner and his "messes" were deported through the back and out the airlock. None, save for Liara, even knew he was aboard…yet.

And though Urz had a bed, i.e, the sofa, he, like his master was extremely headstrong. This was the third time today Shepard had to pry him from her pillow.

"We are not having this discussion", she continued, "I'm not waking up to you slobbering in my face again."

"Mmmmmm…mmm…mm mm" he whined.

"Nuh uh, not gonna happen. Look at that couch" she said enthusiastically, pointing in its direction, "That couch is hella comfortable."

Urz gave her a look that said "Then _you _sleep on it."

"Oh come on, that couch is better than anything you could find on Tuchanka. Besides, do you _really_ want Liara to throw you off again?" she asked carefully.

Urz's eyes widened, remembering the last time the asari had caught him in her spot. Needless to say, Urz quickly found out she was a biotic and was sent hurtling through the air to land roughly on his sofa.

At the mention of her name, he bounded from the bed and returned to the couch, grumbling in the process but not wanting another headache.

"That's a good boy" she cooed, patting him on the head and slumping down beside him.

"I don't know about you, but I'm ready to _do_ something" she scratched his ears, "I swear I'm getting cabin fever" she mumbled.

Urz licked her hand and laid his head on her knee.

"Wonder how the rest of the crew is gonna take to you" she smirked, "I'd pay to see Tali's reaction."

[_Commander, Lieutenant Vega wishes to drop in. Says he has some things he'd like to discuss with you.]_

"Mmm, sure, send him on up, Joker."

"Aye, Commander."

Ten minutes later, her door _whooshed_ open and in stepped James Vega, just as burly, tan, and tattooed as ever.

"Ayyyy, Lola" he greeted, hands in the air as he strode towards her. "Felt like forever since I've seen you-_whaaat_ the hell is that?" he stopped short, taking a step back as he noticed the varren perched lazily on the couch. Urz merely raised his head, yawned, and then laid it back down on his master's knee.

"Ah, _that_ would be a varren, James" Shepard shrugged, patting the little creature lightly on his head.

"I, uh, I can see that. Why is it on the Normandy?"

"I met this little guy awhile back when I was doing recruitment. I dunno, I guess he reminded me of a dog I once had."

"Kinda…ugly for a dog, isn't he?"

Urz raised his head and growled.

"No, no, he didn't mean that" Shepard soothed, "Be a little sensitive, won't ya?" she griped at the lieutenant.

"Kinda…not horrendously ugly, yet slightly less attractive than a dog…isn't he?" he said slowly.

"Better" she nodded.

James leaned against the stairwell and crossed his arms.

"Wouldn't a, I dunno, a _hamster_ be a little more sufficient?"

"I had a hamster till that bastard clone of mine came aboard and got rid of him" she answered, clenching her fist and banging it on the sofa's arm. "Poor little guy went for the eyes and she threw him out the airlock. Bitch got rid of my fish too…I took that _very_ personally."

"Soooo, you can't get a _new_ hamster or_ new_ fish?"

"One does not simply 'get' a new hamster, James. And as for the fish…I'm workin' on it" she said with a wave of her hand.

"I suppose she got rid of your stack of Azure magazines too?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"We don't talk about that, I still haven't gotten over it."

"Dammit, I was hoping to borrow one of those."

Shepard eyed him incredulously.

"What?" he shrugged, "Beats paying outta pocket for em' on Omega."

Jane shook her head, pinching her nose in the process.

"Joker said you had something you wanted to discuss with me?" she asked, quickly wanting to change the subject.

"Oh, yeah" he sighed, shifting position against the railing. "When, uh, do you think you'll be field bound again?"

"Hell, if I had my way, right now."

"Heh, that's what I was hoping you'd say. Was starting to worry whether you'd change your mind being stuck in here all day, every day."

"Nahhh, I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. Still a lot of idiots out there to take care of."

"Reason I ask is that Admiral Hackett has been checking in every now and then, seeing how the crew is coping and all that; didn't wanna disturb you while you were recovering, but I think he's ready for you to do some work."

"Excellent" she grinned, rubbing her hands together.

"At any rate, said for you to get a physical and once he gets the lab results in, go meet him in the debriefing room."

"Simple enough."

"Yep" James replied, striding back up the stairwell and towards the door. "That's all I wanted to tell you, Commander."

"Thanks, Vega. I appreciate it."

"Anytime, Lola. You and your 'not ugly dog' have a nice day" he grinned, tipping an invisible hat and exiting her cabin.

Shepard looked down at the varren, whom was still resting on her knee and now beginning to quietly snore.

"Well, if you didn't attack James, I doubt you'll go after anyone else" she whispered with a shrug, "Hell, my hamster didn't even like him. And in the meantime…looks like _I'm_ going on a mission."


	2. Mission 1: Red Sand and Idiots

**Kay, so this update took way longer than I expected, heh. Not sure where this is going, but we shall see. **

* * *

The hot, Tuchanka sun bore down on Commander Shepard and her two squad mates as they trekked through the dusty underbrush of the planet's dense forest, alive with the sounds and shrills of exotic and albeit dangerous wildlife the krogan home world had to offer.

It had taken some persuasion even after Shepard's physical received the green light, but Hackett knew her strong familiarity with the planet and the bond she shared with many of its leaders. To send anyone else for the job would have been futile.

Wrex remained on Tuchanka having found a mate in Bakara and was busy trying to start a family of his own. Grunt became a captain and co-leader of his tribe and though the "tank bred" was still a runt and to some, a mutt, his combat abilities far exceeded that of his fellow brethren.

Today however, was not a day for reunion with the krogan. Shepard had been sent to scour the location of a possible, under cover, red sand operation. Hiding out on the wild planet would cause less suspicion than attempting to function on Omega or even the Citadel and with its endless expansion of desert and aggressive fauna, none usually came to Tuchanka unless they absolutely had to.

"Bring back memories, Shepard?" asked Garrus with a coy smile, sniper in hand as he followed behind his leader.

"Sure, but if I hear 'hit the key-stone' one more time…"

"What's a key-stone?" asked Kasumi, adjusting her cowl.

"Two words, Kasumi: Krogan. Puberty" answered the turian.

"Eww…forget I asked."

"Shepard?"

"Hm?"

"Are we sure there's a red sand operation out here? I mean…Tuchanka of all places? No sane human or alien would come here."

"Ere go, all the more reason _to_ come here, Garrus."

"Just seems too good to be true. You'd think that red sand would have lost its purpose by now or that it'd been wiped clean from the invasion. People are so damn desperate."

"More like addicted. It's a drug like anything else, everyone needs their high."

"There are…other ways of getting a high" Kasumi giggled.

"Oh? And I suppose you have a lot of experience in that department being holed up in your cabin."

"I never said that another person was required" she smirked, "Though you and Tali seem to have mastered that concept. Been calibrating her engines there, Garrus?"

If a turian could blush, Garrus would have been as red as an elcor with sunburn. Rather, he cleared his throat, cocked his head to one side and then the other and continued forward.

"_I knew I should have moved the bed away from the wall…"_

"Why is it that every time I bring you two along, the conversation somehow manages to turn to sex?"

"Because sex rules the world, Commander" the ninja winked.

"Uh huh…"

* * *

"About how far in is this operation supposed to be?"

"Twenty clicks due north of here. We should be about there if my coordinates are accurate."

The sound of blaster fire halted the commander's tracking, and as she looked up, she rolled her eyes in dread at the exterior of what would have appeared to be the infamous red sand operations building. She and her squad were just far enough out to not be seen by its guard patrol, but close enough to see the battle that was currently going on.

"Dammit…" Shepard groaned.

"What the hell is that thing…?" Kasumi asked incredulously.

"That would be a thresher maw, Kasumi" Garrus grinned, placing a hand on the commander's shoulders as she pinched the bridge of her nose."

"Don't say it." Shepard warned, "Don't even _think_ about it."

Garrus leaned in and whispered, "Hit the key-stone."

"Garrus…I _will _throw you out the airlock" Shepard smirked, playfully elbowing him in the stomach.

"Hey, every ship needs a turian" he shrugged.

"Don't push your luck."

Kasumi cleared her throat, "Can we please turn our attention back to the giant worm that just popped back out of the ground?"

"Yeah…they do that."

"How are we supposed to get in there now?" she asked, fearing the answer. To her dismay, Shepard confirmed it.

"Easy, we sneak in the back. The guard's attention will be drawn to it, give us a chance to get inside and take a look at things, see if we can find their captain."

"Oh, hell no, I'm not going anywhere near that thing."

"Relax Kasumi, I've killed like five of these things…course…four were with the Mako and one ran away…."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!" she groaned, plopping herself on the ground.

"We could let it terrorize the smugglers until they leave, makes our job easier anyway," Garrus offered.

"We can't. Hackett wants their leader arrested."

"Of course he does."

"Come on you two, we've faced way worse. One little thresher maw is gonna seriously scare you away?"

"Up until five minutes ago, I didn't even know what a thresher maw was" Kasumi replied.

"I'm more filled with dread than fear" Garrus muttered, "I hate these things…"

"Give me five minutes" Shepard offered, holding up all five fingers. "Five minutes, that's all I need."

Kasumi rolled her eyes and groaned, but picked herself up, grabbed her pistol from the ground and said,

"Alright, but if I get eaten…I'm blaming it on you."

As the trio moved closer, the sounds of battle grew louder and more intense. The exact number of smugglers inside the building was unknown, but they had settled on thresher territory and they were losing horribly. Thresher maws were diligent and stubborn, not leaving their prey alone until they had either killed it or forced it elsewhere. Shepard's plan was to sneak in, allowing the thresher to draw the attention away from the exterior guards, and with all the commotion already going on outside, she wasn't sure how many were left on the building's interior.

"Come on" she whispered, her back against a walkway that lead to a back entrance. "Let's see if we can do this quietly."

"I'll hack the door" Kasumi whispered back, "Watch my back."

Another shrill cry signaled the end of another life as the thresher maw screeched and dove back underground, readying itself for another attack.

"Forgot how loud those things were" said Garrus, pulling out his assault rifle.

Kasumi fiddled with the wires, sparks flying from left to right until the light on the side of the door panel turned green and slid open.

"Nice job. Kasumi, to my left, Garrus, right."

The back of the operations building held no surprise. Crates upon crates of red sand and other illegal paraphernalia were stacked so high they nearly touched the ceiling, lining the room as far as the eye could see.

Shepard pointed two fingers first to her left, then to her right, signaling for her squad mates to take cover on either side of her as she eased around the back of one of the crates to get a better view. She was hoping the captain would be in an office somewhere; it was rare to see higher authority doing patrol work, but with the new threat of the thresher maw outside, there was a good chance he had jumped into the fray as well, either that or he was busy preparing a shuttle to get out before anyone else noticed. If that were the case, there'd be no tracking him down; at least not for a while.

The interior of the building seemed to be empty from what Shepard could tell and as Kasumi and Garrus remained back, their shoulders against crates and their weapons at the ready, the farther Shepard eased forward, the quieter everything became. The commander motioned for her squad members to move forward, not wanting to get too far ahead in case a fire fight did happen to break out. Shepard paused, dropping to her knees as the back of the building began to rattle, indicating that the door was once more being slid open. Shepard and her squad sidled to the edge of the room and remained out of sight.

"Holy fuck!" a man cried, "We just lost half our unit to that damn thing! What the fuck are we gonna do?!"

"You're gonna shut the fuck up and calm the fuck down, that's what you're gonna do" a woman replied, her voice carrying more resolve than the first.

"We can't go back out there! We'll get eaten alive!"

The woman shoved her pistol under his chin and gave him a warning glare, "What did I just say?" she asked slowly.

"S-sorry, ma'am."

"God, I swear you recruits get smaller dicks every year" she growled in annoyance, putting her pistol away.

"S-so what do we do now?" he cleared his throat, trying to regain his bravado.

"We pack up what sand we can carry and we get the hell out. We can come back for the rest when we have more backup. Those damn threshers don't stay in the same place for too long, we'll just have to hope he's not here when we come back."

"We're….we're coming back?"

"Did I stutter? You think I'm leaving all this profit in here to waste away? I don't think so."

"Fuck…" he whispered, turning away so she couldn't hear the fear in his voice.

"Make yourself useful you little prick, start loading up sand into my shuttle, and be quick about it. I need to check on some things first."

"Aye, ma'am."

* * *

Shepard watched as the woman shuffled to the upstairs office. The other man was busy grabbing crates of sand, momentarily disappearing as he loaded them into her shuttle in the hangar bay as he had been told. He was moving pretty quickly; Shepard knew she didn't have much time. Her assault rifle at the ready, she waited until he was once more out of sight, and with her squad behind her, made her way upstairs and propped the door to the office open.

The woman in front of her was unaware she currently had three guns pointed at the back of her head and was too busy leaning over a desk, shuffling papers.

"Captain Korsack?" she asked sternly.

The woman whipped around, instinctively grabbing her pistol and pointing it at her pursuers.

"Who wants to know?"

"Alliance military, you're under arrest for red sand smuggling and possession."

The woman drew a breath and released it, a smile slowing painting across her face.

"Commander Shepard, you're still alive I see."

"Unfortunately" the commander shrugged.

"So, you defeat the reapers and now you're stuck doing busy work."

"If by busy work you mean keeping annoying little assholes like you from causing even more trouble, then yes, I suppose so. Now…you gonna make this easy on me, or are we doing this the hard way?"

Korsack paused for a moment, then opened her palm, a small device falling to the metal floor. In mere seconds, the room filled with smoke and Korsack bounded for the window.

"Get downstairs!" Shepard called to her crew, as she raced through the smoke in the same direction. It burned her eyes and filled her nose with an even worse sensation, but the commander ignored it, trying her best not to breathe it in as she kept running.

A few meters ahead, she could hear Korsack yelling to her last guard, "Get in the shuttle!"

The guard dropped the crate he was holding and sprinted towards her direction, but he found himself lying face down on pavement a few seconds later as Garrus tackled him to the ground.

"Do me a favor, don't move" he growled, his pistol shoved roughly into the guard's cheek.

"I would really hate pistols after today if I were you" Kasumi muttered, pointing her own pistol at him as well.

The guard merely sighed with defeat and relaxed his body.

* * *

"Carver? Carver! Where the fuck are you!" Korsack barked.

"Afraid he's a little tied up at the moment" Shepard panted, once more aiming her rifle at the female captain.

"Dammit, what did you do with him!" she snapped.

"What do you care?"

Korsack continued to pace in frustration, taking small steps back and forth until she finally threw her pistol down in annoyance and looked back up at the commander.

"I'm not the captain, not really" she scowled.

"Excuse me?"

"Carver is."

"The hell…?"

"He is…was…the former captain's son. Except…he's an idiot and doesn't know how to command a hole in the wall. So, I took over."

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me" Shepard sighed, shaking her head.

"Wish I were. But look here, I may treat him like shit, but he's still like a brother to me and you best bet I'll kill you before I let you take him or me out of here."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. This woman was insane.

"I see" she replied, trying not to laugh.

Korsack opened her palm once more, attempting to drop another smoke bomb, but the commander was ready for her this time and shot it before it could hit the ground, causing the little device to explode in metal splinters. At that, the "captain" whipped out a second pistol and managed to hit the commander in the shoulder before she fired. Shepard reeled back a bit and then pulled her trigger, the bullet coming to rest between the "captain's" eyes as she slumped to the ground and lay lifeless.

"Shepard, are you alright?" Kasumi asked, placing her hand above Shepard's bullet wound.

"I'm fine, managed to break through my shields though."

"Should get that looked at when we get back."

Ignoring her concern, Shepard strolled to Carver, whom was now sitting against a crate, his hands tied in front of him and resting in his lap.

"Sup" she said casually.

Carver looked up, his eyes widening.

"A-are you gonna kill me?" he asked fearfully.

"Uhhh, no."

"Oh, okay. Um, where's Korsack?"

"I had to shoot her."

Carver cast his eyes to the ground as they began to glaze over and as he turned his attention back to the commander, a small tear slid down his cheek.

"T-thaaaaank you" he sobbed uncontrollably, "S-she w-w-was such a biiiiitch"

Shepard's eyes widened once more as she looked to each of her squad mates. What was _wrong_ with these people?

"Alright, alright, calm down" she grimaced, nudging him with her foot.

"Can I hit him?" Kasumi asked. "Because I really to want to hit him."

"If anyone is gonna hit him, it should me" chimed Garrus, "I caught him."

"No one is gonna hit him" said Shepard. "But he is getting arrested" she finished, still nudging him as he still sobbed uncontrollably.

Garrus picked him up by the arm and dragged him forward without much help as his eyes were closed and his chest heaved from crying.

They managed to drag him all the way to the back of the building before Carver finally started to calm down. And once he was aware that they were going back outside, his crying quickly turned to fear.

"We're going back outside!? You do know there's a thresher out there, don't you?! No, just kill me! Here, you can shoot me right now! Don't make me go back out there!"

"This. Is getting ridiculous, can I _please_ hit him?" Garrus begged.

"No! And, no one is shooting you, calm down!" Shepard barked. "Jesus Christ, you're annoying as fuck. We're going outside, our mako is outside…so we are _going outside_! So help me, if you cry or scream, _one _time I will hit you so hard upside the head, you'll wish the thresher had gotten ahold of you. Am I clear?"

Carver nodded a quick response.

Kasumi nudged Garrus in the shoulder and whispered, "Someone is pmsing…"

Shepard whipped around, "I am not pmsing!"

"It's alright, Shepard, some chocolate and sex will fix you right up" Kasumi smiled.

Shepard glared at her and then turned back around, muttering something about the airlock.

The commander was used to hectic missions, dangerous missions, and life threatening missions, but she wasn't used to annoying missions, and ones that included people she was supposed to arrest that would better be suited to be in an insane asylum, and this mission in particular was really starting to dwell on her. Suffice it to say, she was ready to get back to the Normandy, find Liara, and relax for the rest of the evening.

That, unfortunately, would not come quite so soon. The mako had been parked a good mile and a half away, hidden behind some rocks and underbrush so as not to blow their cover. With patrol of the red sand building gone in its entirety, the thresher maw no longer had anything to draw its attention. Nothing that is, except for Shepard and her small crew.

Threshers were renowned for their excellent hearing and Shepard didn't so much as breathe as they made their way quickly and quietly across the area. The ground beneath them rumbled and vibrated as the thresher shifted its position, possibly readying itself to erupt out of the sand and attack.

A sneeze from Carver forced it to do so. Shepard raised her fist at him, tempted to do good on her word, but her actions were cut short as the thresher split the ground open and reared its long, ugly body towards the sky, its shrill cry filling the air.

"RUN! Get to the mako!" Shepard yelled.

The thresher sprang back into the sand and rumbled the ground a second time. There was never any guessing as to where it would spring up next. Moments later, it decided, forcing its body between Shepard and the rest of her crew.

"Shepard!" Kasumi yelled.

"Garrus you know what to do!" Shepard called as the turian nodded in response.

This had happened before, so many times in fact, that Shepard and Garrus had devised a plan. They were the only ones who knew it and Garrus was the only one who could perform it to absolute perfection.

Kasumi, confused by the commander not following, hesitated. Garrus grabbed her by the arm, Carver held by his other hand, and dragged them both forward.

"Trust me" he said to her.

"But-"

"Kasumi, come on!"

As the trio ran back to the Mako, Shepard prepared herself. She cocked her head from side to side, a grin spreading across her face as she crouched low, her hands outstretched to either side of her.

"Come on you ugly bastard, let's do this."

The thresher sprang forward, opening its mouth and dove down, swallowing the commander whole before diving back underground.

Shepard managed to grab onto one of the thresher's ribs and looking down, she could see the bubbling pit of stomach acid below her.

"Yep, this is gonna be one to tell the kids one day. 'Oh, Shepard, dear, tell our daughter about the time you got swallowed by a thresher maw…again'", She grumbled.

She tightened her grip as the thresher lurched forward a third time. The mako must have been getting close.

Reaching onto her belt, she pulled off a grenade, waiting anxiously for the right moment to strike. She waited a few more moments and pulled of the pin with her teeth, tossing the grenade down into the pit of the thresher's stomach below.

* * *

"She's gone!" Kasumi cried, "Where is she!"

"Wait for it" Garrus started.

"What?"

"3. 2-"

"Garrus!"

"1."

Garrus pulled back on the acceleration forcing the mako to spring through the air. The thresher lunged upward and exploded into nothing but a pile of innards and red spray. Shepard spotted the mako post haste and grabbed the front of it just as it landed back on the ground.

Without stopping, Shepard pulled open the emergency hatch and dropped inside, taking the helm at the driver's seat.

"Nice job, Garrus."

"It's what I do."

Carver had manged to faint in all of this and was leaning in the back seat, his mouth wide open. Kasumi on the other hand was sitting wide eyed and agape at her now slime covered commander.

"I told her to trust me" the turian muttered, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"That. Was. Bad-ass!" Kasumi shrieked.

"Thanks" Shepard chuckled. "How's our friend back there?"

"I hit him…" she answered quietly.

Shepard merely shook her head and kept driving. "Let's get the hell out of here. I need a shower."

* * *

_(Approximately 2 hours later/sometime in the not too distant future.)_

It had been a long day and even that was an understatement. The mako had been successfully delivered back to the garage and Carver had been taken in by Hackett shortly thereafter. He was still unconscious at the time. Garrus and Kasumi retired to their cabins and Shepard did the same.

She entered to find Liara, legs crossed, laying on their bed in her favorite silk night gown reading a holo novel. Upon seeing her goop covered bond mate, she placed a hand over her mouth to hide the fact that she was trying not to smile.

"Long day, hun?" she asked through a chuckle.

"Yes, dear" she replied, shoulders slumped as she made her way to the shower.

"Put your clothes in a pile outside the door, I'll wash them tomorrow."

"Yes, dear" she replied again, half ignoring her while she turned on the water.

"And Shepard?" she called, raising her voice to be heard over the water, "When you're done, please join me in bed. This holo-vid is starting to bore me…if you catch my drift."

"Yes de-…" Shepard peaked outside the door and grinned, "Ma'am, yes, ma'am."


End file.
